WEBVTT IT SINCE THAT TIME?WE SPENT -- SENT KCCI'S RHEYASPIGNER TO FIND OUT.RHEYA: IT WAS RIGHT HERE WHEREMOLLIE AND KEVIN COONEY SAWSOMEONE VANDALIZE THE ROBERT DRAY ASIAN GARDENS.IT STILL HASN'T BEEN FIXED ANDPOLICE SAY THEY'LL BE KEEPING ACLOSER EYE ON IT THIS SUMMER.IT TOOK A TAZER TO TAKE THEPERSON ANGRILY VANDALIZING THISPUBLIC SPACE DOWN.TWO MONTHS LATER, THE-- THE DAMAGES STILL THERE.GREATER DES MOINES PARTNERSHIPAND DES MOINES PARK ANDRECREATION DIRECTED ME TO THECITY OF DES MOINES WHO COULDN'T, GIVE ME AN ANSWER ON HOW MUCHHAS BEEN RAISED TO FIX IT OREXACTLY WHEN IT WOULD GET FIXED-- FIXED.I LEFT MESSAGES FOR A PARTNER,PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP FORTHE SAME QUESTION AND IOWA ASIAN, ALLIANCE TELLS ME THERE HASBEEN TALK ABOUT MOVING FORWARDWITHFIXING THOUGH NOTHINGSPECIFIC, THEY DID HOWEVERSTRESS THE ISSUE OF SECURITY.>> AS THE WEATHER GETS WARMERAND WE KNOW PEOPLE ARE GOING TOBE VENTURING OUT TO OUR PARKSAND THROUGH OUR TRAIL SYSTEM.WE STEP UP SECURITY THROUGHOUTTHE DAY AND IN THE EVENING.THE SECTION IS PART OF OUROPERATION DOWNTOWN OUR OFF DUTYFOR OPERATION DOWNTOWN WHICH, MEANS THERE WILL BE BOTH ONDUTY AND OFF DUTY PATROL IN THEAREA.>> IN THE SUMMER WE HAVE HADINCIDENTS AT THE ARMORY AFTERHOURS AND CAUSING PROBLEMS WE'VEGOT A TRASH ISSUE AND SHOTSFIRED, SO THE ASIAN STRUCTURE ISA LITTLE BIT NORTH OF THAT.RHEYA: ALTHOUGH DES MOINES

The Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens is one of the jewels along the east bank of the Des Moines River, but vandalism two months ago tarnished the pagoda.

Former KCCI anchors Mollie and Kevin Cooney witnessed the vandalism when it happened in February, but repairs have still not been made.

Des Moines police have said they’ll keep a closer eye on it this summer.

The Greater Des Moines Partnership and Des Moines Park and Recreation directed KCCI to the city of Des Moines, but city officials couldn’t say how much money has been raised to repair the damage, or exactly when it could be fixed.

KCCI left messages for a partner, Principal Financial Group, asking the same question.

An Iowa Asian Alliance spokesperson said there has been talk about moving forward with fixing the sculptures in downtown Des Moines, though they did not address specifics, only stressing the issue of security.

“As the weather gets warmer and we know people are going to be venturing out to our parks and through our trail system, we step up security throughout the day and in the evening,” Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said. “The section is part of our operation downtown, our off-duty for operation downtown.”

That means there will be both on-duty and off-duty patrol in the area. There’s already a problem area near the garden as well that will keep officers on the ball and help prevent such vandalism from happening again.

“In the summer, we have had incidents at the armory after hours and causing problems,” Parizek said. “We’ve got a trash issue and shots fired, so that issue gets extra attention. The Asian structure is just a little bit north of that.”

Although Des Moines police said they believe the February incident was an outlier, they’re making sure it won’t happen again.

Principal Financial Group sent a brief statement Thursday afternoon saying they are working with other groups and are in the process of developing a plan and making good progress.